How to Convert an iPhone Shortcut into an Android TV Sideloaded Action

Updated 2026-10-29

What converts between iOS and Android TV

Converting an iPhone shortcut into an Android TV sideloaded action package is one of the most useful tricks for power users who want to use iOS-developed smart-home or streaming shortcuts on a Chromecast-enabled TV without going through Google Play. An iOS shortcut that opens an app or triggers a deep link usually points to an App Store URL like https://apps.apple.com/us/app/.... Android TV cannot execute those URLs natively. Sideloading—manually installing an APK onto a device via adb install or an app like ATV Manager—lets you place the exact same .apk (or a custom action package built around it) onto the TV.

The goal is simple: take the URL or intent data the shortcut carries, bake it into an Android-managed action bundle that the TV accepts, then drop it onto the device. Once done, the shortcut behaves like any other installed TV app, but you keep the original iOS shortcut’s link target. For many streaming services and smart-home hubs, the bundle contains the same intent payload that the iOS automation generated.

Step-by-step conversion workflow

Start each run with a verified, static URL from the original iOS shortcut. Open the shortcut on your iPhone, tap the three-dot menu, and copy the first “Share Link” or “Open URL” action. That string is what you will embed in the Android action package. The conversion has three phases: extract, build, load.

First, extract the target URL and any query parameters. Copy the full link, including the scheme (https://), the host, and every parameter. For example, https://tuneinn.com/opensdk?room=livingroom&mode=music is the kind of value you need.

Second, build the action package. You can use a tool like Android Studio’s Actions template or a package such as ATV Manager that exposes a simple action-builder UI. In the builder, set the action’s category to android.intent.category.APPLICATION_ICON and define an Intent with the correct action (ACTION_VIEW for a URL) and data from the extracted link. Most converters preserve the original bundleId or domain name in the manifest, which makes the resulting APK feel native on the TV. If your service uses a proprietary SDK, you must also include that SDK’s JAR or .aarp dependency alongside the custom action.

Third, load the APK onto the TV. On a connected Pixel or Nexus TV, run adb install --allow-downloads path/to/package.apk. If you built the package yourself, the APK already contains the custom action. On some TVs the file must be placed on the Downloads folder first via a USB transfer; then adb install will pick it up and register the action with the Actions menu. The bundle is now registered as a TV action.

Trade-offs and common pitfalls

Sideloading is powerful but has real costs. First, you lose automatic updates. A TV app side-loaded from an APK only updates when you manually reinstall the new package, unlike Play Store ones that get pushed silently. Second, the Apple Shortcut ecosystem does not expose deep-link intents to Android TV, so you often have to reconstruct the intent by hand. Third, you must keep the action’s manifest clean; if the APK declares the wrong package or missing android.permission.INTERNET, the TV will refuse to register the action and it will appear grayed out in the shortcuts menu.

Another practical trade-off is performance. A side-loaded action bundle that carries a heavy third-party SDK can slow down cold-start time on the TV, and the extra permissions it requests may show up as a warning banner. Staying conservative—using only the minimal intent library and limiting the bundle size to what the shortcut needs—is worth the extra setup time.

Two short lists to remember

Checklist before you load:

• Confirm the URL works on your iPhone and still matches the intended destination after the conversion.
• Test the bundle on a phone first with adb install to verify the action appears in the shortcuts menu before pushing to the TV.

What to avoid:

• Do not sideload apps from untrusted sources; stick to bundles you either built yourself or downloaded from the official plugin marketplace of the service.
• Avoid bundling multiple unrelated actions in a single APK; the TV’s shortcuts menu can become confusing, and Android will sometimes reject overly complex manifests.

Final notes

The core workflow—extract the iOS shortcut URL, rebuild it as an Android TV action bundle, then install via adb—is straightforward once you have the right tool and the original link. Most people stop at the first successful install because the side-loaded bundle gives them direct access to the app’s deepest actions. If the update gap bothers you, schedule a monthly reinstall using adb install --update-in-place. For now, this method is the most reliable way to bring iPhone shortcuts into the Android TV environment without relying on Google Play.

Related reading: more Android TV notes